Fencing royalty Juliana Gomez defends UAAP epee throne

MANILA, Philippines – Still the reigning queen.

University of the Philippines’ Juliana Gomez completed her back-to-back championship quest after surviving a come-from-behind thriller, 15-14, against La Salle’s Cyrra Vergara in a rematch of last season’s finale in the UAAP fencing women’s epee individual event. 

“I feel like I just hit a bull’s eye because the target was the gold,” Gomez said, adding she’s glad to add to UP’s golden haul a day after teammate Nana Carbonell ruled the women’s foil.

Gomez’s title defense kept the UP Maroons on top of the leaderboard after Day 2 on Friday, March 15, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.

“It was honestly such a great feeling that we have a good chance of winning the overall for the women’s [event],” the 23-year-old Gomez said.

Gomez – the daughter of celebrity SEA Games fencing champion Richard Gomez and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres – won her breakthrough UAAP gold last year, saying it was “two years in the making.” 

The elder Gomez, a former actor and incumbent Leyte Representative, won a fencing gold in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. 

Tight race

The Maroons stayed in the driver’s seat with a two gold-two bronze haul as Angela Dayro also copped a sabre individual bronze, adding to the one gold and one bronze UP’s foil bets bagged the previous day.

University of the East leaned on the heroics of reigning back-to-back MVP Queen Dalmacio to keep the second spot in the standings with a 1-1-1 gold-silver-bronze tally.

Dalmacio, the 23-year-old national team standout, duplicated her win over University of Santo Tomas’ Janna Catantan last season in the sabre individual with a 15-9 decision.

Catantan’s bronze tied UST with DLSU – both with 1-1 silver-bronze hauls –  as the Lady Green Fencers secured silver from Cyrra Vergara and bronze from Krups Edlinag, both in epee.

In men’s action, the 11-peat-seeking UE Red Warriors (1-2-0) and La Salle (1-0-2) overtook UST (1-0-1) in the men’s tally after the foil individual events.

UE’s Collei Felipe, the Season 85 MVP,  took down sparring partner Robert Cabaero to retain his foil title with a 15-8 clinic in the final.

La Salle’s Lorenzo Mercado and Reindell Lacerna captured the two bronzes in the final individual event of the collegiate side.

In the high school division, Opao Catantan conquered the sabre individual gold to help virtually clinch the 13th girls’ title for UE, winning past fellow Junior Lady Warrior Adrienne Lising, 15-12. – Rappler.com